--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The hardest, gladdest thing in the world…" description: "\"“The hardest, gladdest thing in the world is to cry Father! from a full heart . . . the refusal to look up to God as our father is the one central wron..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/john-eldredge-1487_father_the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world_3141006.png" --- # The hardest, gladdest thing in the world is to cry Father!… ![“The hardest, gladdest thing in the world is to cry Father! from a full heart . . . the refusal to look up to God as our father is the one central wrong in the whole human affair; the inability, the one central misery.” quote by John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/john-eldredge-1487_father_the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world_3141006.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/john-eldredge-1487_father_the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world_3141006.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/john-eldredge-1487_father_the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world_3141006.png) > ““The hardest, gladdest thing in the world is to cry Father! from a full heart . . . the refusal to look up to God as our father is the one central wrong in the whole human affair; the inability, the one central misery.”” [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He links emotional honesty and spiritual reverence, suggesting that denying a divine father leads to deep sorrow. **In simple terms:** Crying from a full heart shows love; denying God causes misery. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability and spiritual connection. Themes faith emotion spirituality Mood reflective somber Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal counseling - spiritual retreats - creative expression - relationship building Key Concepts theology psychology human longing Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging pain help growth? - What role does faith play in your life? A Different Perspective Some may reject religious framing, limiting universal appeal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Central Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/central-misery-5597474/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father Central](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-central-2345635/) [Full Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full-heart/) [God father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-father/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [World Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-father-692179/) ## Related quotes > [So the search for a father in Central Station is also a search for a country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-salles/so-the-search-for-a-father-in-central-station-is-also-a-search-for-a/) [Walter Salles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-salles/) > [The Jews are the conscience of the world. They are the father figures, stern, critical, and forbidding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-hilberg/the-jews-are-the-conscience-of-the-world-they-are-the-father-figures/) [Raul Hilberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-hilberg/) > [I've always had a keen interest in the world. My father was in Patton's 3rd Army, and he helped liberate Dachau in the 7th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-royce/i-ve-always-had-a-keen-interest-in-the-world-my-father-was-in-patton/) [Ed Royce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-royce/) > [The mind is the terriblest force in the world, father, Because, in chief, it, only, can defend Against itself. At its mercy, we depend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-mind-is-the-terriblest-force-in-the-world-father-because-in-chief-2/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [I'm kind of like both of them: My mother grew up wanting to save the world, and my father grew up wanting to rule…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-droga/i-m-kind-of-like-both-of-them-my-mother-grew-up-wanting-to-save-the/) [David Droga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-droga/) > [“The good ones who listen to women to children and the poor die too soon, their lives bedeviled by opposition: our hearts grieve for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-ones-who-listen-to-women-to-children-and-the-poor-die-too/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [It is impossible to please all the world and one's father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/it-is-impossible-to-please-all-the-world-and-one-s-father/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [You will not find what you want in the world, only in the Father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/you-will-not-find-what-you-want-in-the-world-only-in-the-father/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [“Please, I know nothing of the world, except my father is lost in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/please-i-know-nothing-of-the-world-except-my-father-is-lost-in-it/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [I never had a father, but there's no bigger honor, no bigger blessing and no greater job in this world than being a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-taylor/i-never-had-a-father-but-there-s-no-bigger-honor-no-bigger-blessing/) [Jason Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-taylor/) > [He is very foolish who aims at satisfying all the world and his father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/he-is-very-foolish-who-aims-at-satisfying-all-the-world-and-his-father/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [Well, my daddy, he didn't leave me much, you know he was a very simple man, but what he did tell me was this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/well-my-daddy-he-didn-t-leave-me-much-you-know-he-was-a-very-simple/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The mind is the terriblest force in the world, father, Because, in chief, it, only, candefend Against itself. At its mercy, we depend Upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-mind-is-the-terriblest-force-in-the-world-father-because-in-chief/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“Joan of Arc came back as a little girl in Japan, and her father told her to stop listening to her imaginary friends. Elvis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-thomas/joan-of-arc-came-back-as-a-little-girl-in-japan-and-her-father-told/) [Iain Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-thomas/) > [“Gandhi was born to a wealthy stockbroker in New York. He never forgave the world after his father threw himself from his office window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pleasefindthis/gandhi-was-born-to-a-wealthy-stockbroker-in-new-york-he-never-forgave/) [pleasefindthis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pleasefindthis/) ## More by John Eldredge > [To find God, you must look with all your heart. To remain present to God, you must remain present to your heart. To hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/to-find-god-you-must-look-with-all-your-heart-to-remain-present-to/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [ “There is a satisfaction we don't want to come to until we come to it in God…\[Disappointments\] serve to remind us every day that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/there-is-a-satisfaction-we-don-t-want-to-come-to-until-we-come-to-it/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [The early Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit 'the wild goose.' And the reason why is they knew that you cannot tame him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-early-celtic-christians-called-the-holy-spirit-the-wild-goose-and/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [The real you is on the side of God against the false self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-real-you-is-on-the-side-of-god-against-the-false-self/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [“The authors challenge that the marriage in which one cannot express disappointment has become an idol – The Thing that Cannot Be Questioned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-authors-challenge-that-the-marriage-in-which-one-cannot-express/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [A man's calling is written on his true heart, and he discovers it when he enters the frontier of his deep desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/a-man-s-calling-is-written-on-his-true-heart-and-he-discovers-it-when/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [In the end, it doesn’t matter how well we have performed or what we have accomplished—a life without heart is not worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/in-the-end-it-doesn-t-matter-how-well-we-have-performed-or-what-we/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [Whatever their age, most men have never received true fathering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/whatever-their-age-most-men-have-never-received-true-fathering/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [I'm married. I have three children. I have a mortgage to pay. The plumbing breaks and the yard needs trimming. However, what my wife…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/i-m-married-i-have-three-children-i-have-a-mortgage-to-pay-the/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [“He is on a mission to rescue a people who are so utterly deceived most of them don’t even want to be rescued.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/he-is-on-a-mission-to-rescue-a-people-who-are-so-utterly-deceived/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [“Something has gone wrong in us, very wrong indeed. So wrong that we have to be told that joy is found not in having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/something-has-gone-wrong-in-us-very-wrong-indeed-so-wrong-that-we/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [“We don’t need accountability groups; we need fellow warriors, someone to fight alongside, someone to watch our back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/we-don-t-need-accountability-groups-we-need-fellow-warriors-someone/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [We don't see clearly because we don't see with the eyes of our heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/we-don-t-see-clearly-because-we-don-t-see-with-the-eyes-of-our-heart/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-story-of-your-life-is-the-story-of-the-long-and-brutal-assault-on/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [I have a call to speak, to write, to do sort of deep-heart surgery in people's lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/i-have-a-call-to-speak-to-write-to-do-sort-of-deep-heart-surgery-in/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) [Explore all 233 John Eldredge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) ## More Father quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The hardest, gladdest thing in the world is to cry Father! from a full heart . . . the refusal to look up to God as our father is the one central wrong in the whole human affair; the inability, the one central misery.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Eldredge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-cry-father-from-a-full/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Father" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-cry-father-from-a-full/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/john-eldredge-1487_father_the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world_3141006.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/john-eldredge-1487_father_the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world_3141006.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/john-eldredge-1487_father_the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world_3141006.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The hardest, gladdest thing in the world is to cry Father! from a full heart . . . the refusal to look up to…” — John Eldredge", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Eldredge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The hardest, gladdest thing in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-cry-father-from-a-full/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-hardest-gladdest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-cry-father-from-a-full/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```